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Half and True Borns
Half and True Borns 'Halfborn' All halfborn display heterochromia iridis, or differently colored eyes, a genetic trait that only appears in individuals with both magical and non-magical blood. A halfborn is only created through the pairing of a human partner with the opposite sex of one of the other trueborn races. All halfborn suffer rejection by society at some point, and many live hard lives against such discrimination. The term itself was created to depict the forbidden taboo and to advise others to keep to their own races and society. Though the act of intermingling races is highly discouraged, it seems love is blind when faced with potential offspring being feared and rejected later in life. All those born with such mixed blood are both blessed and cursed. They are blessed to some degree with the magic of their trueborn side, as well as the human ability to channel magic, but they are also cursed because they find great difficulty and entropy in controlling these abilities. They also cannot fully bond, or create lasting bonds with the creatures of Eldemore. Problems like these tend to make them seem more like misfits and outcasts, furthering the stereotype that halfborns are lesser beings. Avian Halfborn: Even though they are feared as 'demon birds', Avian halfborn are, for the most part, remarkably human in appearance, save for one of their eyes displaying their rare heritage. Despite this, children of both Avian and human descent suffer the most painful of transformations, and also garner most of the discrimination as well. These individuals also tend to be the most feared of all the halfborn for their ability to change into their bloodline's predatory Avian form. Many refer to such changes as being 'demonic' or'cursed' since the halfborn usually only does so when emotions are uncontrolled or their anger unbridled. Because of this, halfborn Avians are often taught to be devoid of emotion and practice being calm and collected at all times, for if not, the magic of their Avian blood often comes back to haunt them with a vengeance -- feathers pierce through skin and wings erupt from their backs in a chilling and bloody sight. Only chaos follows in their wake when such power is not contained under a sane mind. There are terrible and dark stories that depict such creatures destroying villages and tearing apart the weak, thus why so many fear both the Avians and their halfborn children as well. Such individuals are usually valued by all the wrong people. Many powerful human kingdoms seek out halfborn to serve under their flag and do their dark bidding, especially children who are young and looking for a place to fit in. It is not uncommon for a powerful lord to have an Avian halfborn as their personal assassin. It speaks to the Avian's most primal heritage, and many do so willingly to obtain a sense of normalcy and perhaps a permanent home in their life. Often the only friends these individuals have are the small birds of Eldemore. Most seek comfort and companionship among the chatters and songs of both them and the rare roaming Griffins they may happen across in their travels. Whatever the case, it is extremely rare for such beings to come to be in the first place, since Avians so greatly despise humans in general -- because of this, there are only ever a handful of halfborn that come from the fabled people of the skies. If an Avian halfborn is able to bond with a creature from Eldemore due to their human bloodline, it is a strained relation, or one that is just as chaotic as the person themselves. At the best of times, the individual is a tolerated presence to the creature they share a connection with, but often times their bonded creature outright ignores their companion's wishes and will even lash out if the connection is strained enough, or the creature becomes confused by the mixed magical and non-magical blood the being shares. This usually causes halfborn to simply avoid creating a bond and settle on being alone, or settle for having a magical creature as a pet. After all, it is the struggle of every being with mixed blood that they are unable to properly bond due to their heritage -- just one more struggle that they must face among many. Wolf-kin Halfborns: Children of both Wolf-kin and human descent are the most common of halfborn breeds, simply due to the close interactions between man and wolf. Wolf-kin society does not greatly discriminate against humans as much as the other races since both seem to display pack-like qualities and commonly come across each other in their travels. Because of their similarities and semi-roaming lifestyles, it is not all that uncommon for a Wolf-kin and human to have a bond that eventually leads to offspring that shares both their parents' blood. However, halfborn of these pairings only ever display a single tail or a set of furred ears, but never both at the same time like their Wolf-kin parent. A halfborn Wolf-kin child is just as wild as any canine pup, often making it difficult for the human parent to raise the young halfborn as he or she will go through many similar phases that one may encounter with an actual dire wolf pup running amok in their home. This includes teething on furniture (and anything within reach), howling late at night, getting overly excited or barking at new people, and endless amounts of energy that seemingly never ceases! Yet, despite their cute demeanor as children, these individuals also find themselves being challenged by Wolf-kin society as being half breeds or 'mutts' as some would say. Not wholly fitting in with humans for their wild-like ways, yet not fully being accepted by their more bestial brother's and sisters either, these individuals struggle through life as they feel out of place in the world, like many of their kind often do. However, like the Avian halfborn, those who share Wolf-kin blood often struggle with their more predatory side when angered or emotional. They can become wild or berserk in their rage, baring unnatural fangs and claws when their magical bloodline comes forth due to their untamed instinct and lust for the hunt. Because of this, many are wary of the lack of control these halfborn display. Even the individuals themselves become frustrated and impatient when they struggle with their more predatory nature. Usually, those who share in Wolf-kin decent are tolerated rather than feared, since they prove invaluable as mercenaries or hunters, but at the same time, they are still treated just as poorly as any half-born, regardless of their more commonplace appearance these days. Like any mixed blood being, they struggle greatly with creating bonds of any sort, but do find comfort and acceptance from their Dire Wolf cousins that they share so much in kind with. Elvian Halfborn: Though not as rare and hated as the Avian halfborn, nor as tolerated and conflicted as the mixed blood Wolf-kins, children of Elvian and human decent are hardly ever seen outside their trueborn parent's forest kingdom, since their kind is often kept within Elvian society. The cervine people, who are fair and elegant in appearance, have always stated that it is strictly forbidden in their society to wed outside of their own kind, but that never seems to stop the few who ignore such strict teachings. Instead of Elvians despising or discriminating against such individuals, they instead pity them more than openly hate, since such displays are against their nature, albeit they do so somewhat begrudgingly. It is almost as if they treat halfborn kin as shameful beings that they wish to hide away from the world, though none would ever say so outright. Elvian halfborn often display the fair features of their magical bloodline, with the tell-tale sign of a single eye revealing what they are. Some males may even display horns that are short in comparison to their trueborn siblings, but they are often forced to keep them filed down due to their family's insistence -- an act that only furthers their quiet shame as it displays openly that they are of mixed ilk. Both genders may have faint fawn spots here and there, but they always have human ears and noses which makes them more beautiful and desired to mankind, but strange and out of place within the forest kingdoms that they are usually forced to remain within. They live a life of quiet oppression as the Elvians' passive aggression is kept at bay only if they have close ties to the one who bore the mixed-blood child. Such a life is either accepted by the halfborn out of desperation to belong and fear of the outside world's rejection, or absolutely despised and hated as they are slowly driven to spite the illusion of normalcy and the keeping up of appearances. Though it would seem as if they are prisoners within a lavished, golden cage, these beings still tend to share a close connection with nature and their Ancient Lord, Mythandian. They like to believe that even though they do not posses his blessing of longevity, that at least he still sees them as his children, despite their mixed linage. It seems Elvian halfborn live a quieter life than most halfborn, but secretly long for freedom and acceptance like any other mixed-blood child. Despite the quiet shame they bear while trying to be like their Elvian brothers and sisters, they at least find some solace in both the woodlands and the wild Elkrin that call such places home. Like all halfborn they struggle with bonds due to bearing both human and Elvian blood, but seem to be easily accepted and tolerated by many creatures of the forest since they still hold a bit of Mythandian's blood within their veins.